Tesla to add battery, electric truck factories in Nevada

Tesla's Gigafactory Nevada.

Tesla has committed $3.6 billion to expand and build upon its current 5.4-million-sq.-ft. Gigafactory Nevada facility, an investment that will support two new factories: a 100 GWh 4680 cell factory and the company’s first high-volume factory for producing Tesla’s Semi electric truck.

The company’s investment is expected to create 4 million sq. ft. of manufacturing space and approximately 3000 jobs, according to Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, who announced the deal on Twitter and in his state of the state address last month.

“Last night, I said that Nevada is open for business, effective immediately — and I meant it,” Lombardo tweeted.

According to Tesla, the new 100 GWh, 4680 cell factory will have the capacity to produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light-duty vehicles per year. The company also said its Semi electric truck has a range of 500 miles and consumes less than 2 KWh per mile.

The Semi electric truck from Tesla.

The two new factory additions will add to the existing Gigafactory Nevada, one of the highest-volume facilities for electric motors, energy storage products, powertrains and batteries.

Tesla said the Gigafactory Nevada expansion will be a “cornerstone of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”

To date, the site, which is located in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County in northern Nevada, has produced 7.3 million battery cells (37 GWh+ annually), 1.5 million battery packs, 3.6 million drive units and 1 million energy modules (14 GWh+ total).

Tesla said it has invested $6.2 billion in Nevada since 2014.